Buttonhole-sewing machine.



PATENTED FEB. 21, 1905.

D. MILLS. BUTTONHOLE SEWING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 9.1896.

4 SHBETS-SHBET l.

M ATTORNEYS 5 9 .1V L 2 R E F D E T N E T A S L L T M D 0 6 m 0o 00 .l mN BUTTONHOLE SEWING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 9,1896.

WITNESSES: @f/ #MZ M ATTORNEYS,

PATENTED FEB. 21, 1905.

D. MILLS.

BUTTONHOLB SEWING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 9,1896.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

INVENTOR W1. ATTORNEYS No. 788,060. PATENTED FEB. 21, 1905.

1). MILLS. BUTTONHOLB SEWING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 9,18%.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

WITNESSES:

INVENTDR flM f C M 42.2 4 cmr lmfl u- M ATTORNEY$ UNITED STATES PatentedFebruary 21, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

DANIEL MILLS, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE STANDARDSEWING MACHINE COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, A

CORPORATION OF OHIO.

BUTTONHOLE-SEWING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 783,060,

dated February 21, 1905.

Application filed November 9, 1896. Serial No. 611,485.

all whom it may concern..-

Be it known that I, DANIEL MILLs, a citizen of the United States, and aresident of Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Buttonhole-Sewing Machines, ofwhich the following description, taken in connection with the drawingsherewith accompanying, is

I a specification.

This invention relates to buttonhole-sewing machines; and it consists ofadditional improvements to the construction illustrated and described inmy former Letters Patent, No. 408,500, issued to me August 6, 1889.

The improvements in the present instance relate more particularly to themechanism for communicating a vibrating or to-and-fro movement to thework-carrier in a direction transversely to the length of thebuttonhole, whereby the sides of the latter may be stitched as thework-carrier is moved in a direction lengthwise of the buttonhole, andto the further means acting in combination with such vibratingmechanism, whereby the width of the center or cutting space between thesides of the buttonhole and the width or depth of bight of the stitchingmay each be regulated.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a sideelevation of amachine embodying my invention. Fig. 2 represents a planView of a portion of the bedplate and the mechanism supported thereonfor communicating a longitudinal and vibrating movement to thework-clamp, the latter also being partly broken away. Fig. 3 representsa plan view of a portion of the bedplatein section and a part of thefeeding mechanism for communicating the longitudinal movement to thework-carrier. Fig. 4c is a detail view, in side elevation, of certainconnected parts to be hereinafter referred to; and Fig. 5 is a planviewof the former cams and yoke, also to be hereinafter referred to.

To explain in detail, a represents the arm of a machine; a, thebed-plate;a the needle-bar, and a the needle.

At the front end of the machine and upon the bed-platethereof I havelocated a plate 6,

plate 7),

- follows: An

work held thereby relative to the stitching mechanism for the sewing ofa buttonhole. The work clamp or carrier for the purposes of my presentinvention may be of any suitable construction to properly hold the workto be operated upon, but which, as herein shown, consists of a lowerplate 7/, which is supported to slide upon the plate 6 between theundercut side walls of the latter, as more clearly shown in Fig. l, andan upper plate b ,supported to have a downward pressure upon the so asto clamp the work held between the same. The means for holding the saidupper plate 6 against the lower plate 5 of the work-holder are omittedfrom the drawings as not forming part of my present invention; but thesame is clearly illustrated and described in my pending applicationbearing Serial No.

599,804. The work-holder is adapted to be operated to receive itstransverse or to-andfro movementacross the path of the needle and atright angles to the path of movement of the shuttle by its supportingvibrator-plate 7), which latter to be capable of receiving such movementis pivotally secured at one end upon the bed-plate at 72 and at itsopposite end is transversely slotted, as at 72*, to receive a headedscrew U, by which latter the plate is guided and held from verticalmovement.

The mechanism for vibratingthe plate 7), and thereby the supportedwork-holder, is as elbow-lever c is pivotally supported at 0 upon asuitable fixed stud or hearing on the bed-plate, with one arm thereofhaving connection with suitable operating mechanism, as will bedescribed, and its other arm, 0 extending in a direction substantiallyparallel with the vibrator-plate b and having connection therewiththrough the medium of a connect-ingpitman 0 By this arrangement of partsit will be understood that as the elbow-lever c is operated to vibrateits arm 0 the connected vibrator-plate b will be vibrated therewiththrough the medium of the pitman 0', and in order that the length ofvibrations of said vibrator-plate and supported work-holder may beregulated so as to vary the width or depth of bight of the stitch I haveprovided the lever-arm c with a curved slot 0 for the adjustableconnection therewith of the pitman 0 As herein shown, I have mounted anadjustable stud c in the said curved slot 0', with which the end of thepitman 0 is connected, and have described the radius of said curved slotfrom the center of the connection of the pitman c with thevibrator-plate I) at 0 In this manner it will be understood that as thestud c is adjusted in the slot 0 a greater or less distance from thepivot of the lever c the movement of vibration of the plate 5 will beincreased or diminished accordingly, and thereby enable the operator toproduce buttonholes of any desired width of bight. The particular meansas shown for securing the adjustable connection between the pitman c"and the lever-arm 0 may be more or less modified without departure frommy invention. For instance, the arm 0 in lieu of having the slot 0*therein might be provided with a raised rib thereon and the end of thepitman be adjustably connected with such rib. The second arm, 0 of thelever 0 is provided with two substantially parallel arms 0 a", pivotallyconnected at one end therewith, as more clearly shown in Fig. 2, whicharms are each held in a normal movable position with their inner edgesagainst a fixed stud 0, located upon the arm 0 as more clearly shown insection in Fig. 4:, by means of a spring 0 which connects at itsopposite ends with the said pivoted arms to draw the same toward eachother and against the said stud o. The lever c is operated, as hereinshown, by means of a lever (Z, which is pivotally supported upon the armof the machine between two lugs (0 a thereon, with one end provided withan elongated slot 61', as shown in Fig. 2, having an adjustable stud 6Z2secured therein for extending between the pivoted arms 0 0 to engagewith the same, and its outer end being provided with apivotally-connected rod (Z which extends loosely within the tubular endof a second lever d to serve as a connection through which movement istransmitted from the latter to' the lever (Z. This second lever (Z ispivotally supported upon the arm of the machine at a, with one endconnecting with the lever (Z, as described, and its other end providedwith an antifriction-roll d thereon, which extends and operates within acamgroove (not shown in the drawings) formed in the inner face of aspur-gear (Z which latter is mounted upon the end of the arm a andoperated from a second gear (Z which is secured upon the upperdriving-shaft of the ma chine, as shown in Fig. 1. By this arrangementof parts, it being understood that the cam-groove in the spur-gear (Z 5is of the proper form to give the engaging lever (Z a vibratingmovement, the vibrator-plate b, with the supported cloth-clamp, iscaused to receive its vibrating or to-and-fro movement across the pathof the needle from the upper drivingshat't of the machine through theseveral connections, as described. The particular connection between thelever 65 and the lever 0 through the medium of the yielding arms 0 c, asdescribed, is adapted to provide for the different lengths of vibrationof the lever c as regulated by the former-cams in makingbarredbuttonholes, as well understood by those skilled in the art and as willbe hereinafter referred to.

I will now describe the mechanism by which the position of thework-clamp is changed or adjusted to cause the opposite sides or edgesof the buttonhole to be stitched, the end of the buttonhole to bebarred, and the width of the center or cutting space between the twolines of over-stitching constituting the sides of the buttonhole to beregulated.

Upon a fixed vertical stud 6, located upon the bed-plate of the machine,is a controller comprising a loose sleeve 0, having mounted thereon twoformer-cams a" 6 located one above the other with a space between thesame, as more clearly shown in Fig. 4:. These former-cams, as in my saidprior patent, No. 408,500, are in two concentric diameters, one portionbeing in one radius, 0 and the other portion in another radius, a, thetwo portions, as herein shown,each being united by an abrupt step Theseformer-cams are arranged with their larger diameters immediately overeach other, as more clearly shown in Fig. 4.

A slotted bar or yoke f, which I will term the former-yoke, hasconnection at one end with the said fixed stud c" on the elbow-lever 0in a manner as will be described and adjacent to its opposite end isprovided with an elongated slot f therein, so as to embrace the saidstud 0 upon the bed-plate of the machine at a point between the twoformer-cams e e and be capable of a longitudinal sliding movementrelative to the stud 6 when operated by its connecting-lever 0. Twostop-fingers f are pivotally secured at one end upon the upper and lowersides, respectively, of the former-yoke f, as more clearly shown in Fig.4, with their free ends extending in a normal laterally-movable positionin a direction in line with each other and across the axis of rotationof the former-cams. When the lever c is operated to vibrate upon itssupport, as described, the connected formeryoke f is caused thereby toreciprocate in a direction across the axis of rotation of theformer-cams, in which direction the pivoted fingers f f thereon extend,as described, and cause the ends of the said fingers to alternatelyengage with the former-cams to limit the movement of the lever 0, andthereby regulate the length of vibrations of the connected work-clamp,as will be understood by those skilled in the art. The ends of thestop-fingers act upon the two concentric diameters of the rotatingformer-cams while the sides of the buttonhole are being stitched anduntil the end of the buttonhole is reached, at which latter time theformer-cams have moved from the position, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4,where the upper and lower fingers are acting upon the larger and smallerdiameters of the upper and lower cams, respectively, to a position, asshown in "Fig. 5, where the two fingers Wlll act upon.

the smaller diameters of the cams, so as to give the increased length ofvibration to the work-clamp required for barring the end of thebuttonhole. This latter operation of barring the buttonhole continuesduring the time the two jaws are acting upon the smaller diameter ofboth cams and until the latter have been turned sufiiciently to presentthe larger diameter of one cam to its engaging jaw f while the other camcontinues to present its smaller diameter or radius a to its engagingjaw, which change of the cams causes the work-holder to be shifted tobring the other side of the buttonhole into position to be stitched, aswill be understood. In order that the cam-engaging fingers or jaws mayyield in case they are in the path of the step e on the former-camsduring the rotation of the latter, so as to avoid interfering with themovements of said cams, the fingers are pivotally secured at one endupon the yoke f, as before described, with their free end yieldinglyheld in a normal position against a stoppin f located on the yoke f, bymeans of a springf", arranged to act against the same, as shown. By thisarrangement of the fingers f the ends of the same will yield in case ofthe engagement therewith 0f the steps 6 on the former-cams and resumetheir normal position at the next vibration of the'yokef.

It will be understood that the object of employing the two former-camsis to enable the same to be adjusted for forming buttonholes with eitherbarrel or rounded ends; butIdo not wish to be understood as confiningmyself to the use of two former-cams, as a single one may be employed,if so desired, without departure from my invention.

The former-yoke f, as herein illustrated, is connected with the stud 0on the elbow-lever 0 in a manner as follows: As more clearly showninFig. l, the said yoke f is provided with an enlarged opening thereinhaving an inner tapering wallf through which opening the stud 0 extends.Upon this stud c and having a screw-threaded connection therewith is asleeve it, having an outer tapering surface to conform to the wall ofthe opening in the yoke f and engaged therewith. By this arrangement ofparts an adjustable connection is secured between the yoke f and lever 0whereby upon adjusting the position of the sleeve /t vertically upon thestud 0 more or less lost motion is allowed between the said yoke andlever. The object of securing such lost motion between the yoke f and 65- lever c is to adjust the width of cutting-space between the two rowsof stitching forming the sides of the buttonholc. It will be understoodby those skilled in the art that when buttonholing soft materialsuch asflannel, for instancethe tension has a tendency to draw the thread inthe goods, so that the center space between the rows of stitching willbe greater than when sewing material of a harder or firmer texture, andit is to provide for such difference in material, so as to preventraveling of the fabric when the stitches are far apart and leaving a rawedge on each side of the buttonhole, that I have provided suchadjustment. Then the sleeve if is turned down to its limit, so as toavoid any lost motion between the yoke f and lever 0, the vibration ofthe work-clamp is so regulated by the former-cams that just sufficientspace is left between the row-s of stitching for the passage of thecutter and is suitable for goods of a firm texture; but when goods of asofter material is to be stitched the sleeve it is then moved upon itsstud, as shown in Fig. 4, so as to secure a lost motion between theparts which may be greater or less, according to the texture of thegoods. When such lost motion is allowed, the excess length of vibrationof the work-clamp is such that the stitches overlap the center line atthe descent of the needle a sufiicient distance so that the tension willdraw them up to leave only a proper cutting-space. A differentconstruction for a like purpose is also embodied in my said priorpatent, No. 408,500.

The different lengths of vibrations of the lever 0 as regulated by theformer-cams for stitching the sides of the buttonholes and bar ring theends of the same is allowed as between the lever 0 and itsoperating-lever (Z by the pivoted spring-arms 0 0, which forms theconnection between said levers, as before described, and allows for thevariations in the movements of the same.

The adjusting-sleeve i1, is adapted to be held in a stationary adjustedposition relative to the stud 0 by suitable'locking means, which, asherein shown, consists of a screw it, tapped into the end of the stud aand engaging with the end of said sleeve through the medium of aninterposed washer b. By tightening the screw b upon the sleeve it itwill act upon the latter like a jam-nut to hold the same stationary.

The sleeve 0, upon which the former-cams are secured,may be operated torotate said cams by any suitable means, the means, as herein shown,being as follows: A gear z' is rigidly secured upon the sleeve 6 andmeshes with a second gear i which latter is loosely mounted to rotateupon a stud i projecting from the bed-plate of the machine, and isconnected with a ratchet-disk 2, also mounted upon said stud so as torotate therewith. A lever 2' loosely hinged or pivoted upon the stud 5as more clearly shown in Fig. 3, and provided with a pawl 1' forengaging with the ratchet t, is provided with a stud 2' projecting itsunder side in a position to engage with one side of an operating-lever iwhich latter is pivoted at one end upon the bed-plate at Z" and at itsopposite end is provided with a stud 71 projecting downward through anopening in the bed-plate, as more clearly shown in Fig. 1, to a positionwhere it is engaged by a cam j, secured on the lower driving-shaft ofthe machine. A spring 6 acting upon the lever 7Z holds the same inoperative engagement with the lever i and also thereby holds the latterlever in operative engagement with the rotating cam 7'. By thisarrangement of parts it will be understood that as the lever i isvibrated by the rotating cam j the lever '11 will also be vibratedthereby and cause its pawl vi to engage the ratchet 71" and give thesame a partial rotation and then recede to engage with a preceding toothof said ratchet. The ratchet '11 being thus rotated communicates a likemovement to the sleeve (1 and the cams thereon through the medium of thegears '13 and vi".

The work-clamp for the purpose of my invention, as hereinbeforedescribed, may be operated to slide upon the vibrator b and receive itslongitudinal movement in a direction lengthwise of the buttonhole by anysuitable means. The means as employed herein and as more clearly shownin Fig. 3 consists of a heart-cam d3, which is rigidly secured upon thesame sleeve 0' with the former-cams to be rotated with the latter, and abar Z;,) shown in dotted outline in Fig. 3,) which is supported to slideon the bed-plate beneath the plate a, secured thereon, and provided withstuds F, projecting through elongated openings (0" a in said plate,which studs are provided with antifriction-rolls 70 7c thereon forengaging with the opposite sides of the heart-cam, whereby the slide-bar7;" will be operated and controlled by said cam to move longitudinallyforward, and backward, and thereby give the workclamp its longitudinalmovement through the medium of connecting-levers Z5 and 7c. These leversl7 and 7: are pivotally secured upon the bed-plate at Z) and 70 withtheir outer ends having a slot-and-pin or equivalent connection withtheslide bar K and the lower plate I) of work-clamp, respectively, so as toallow for the their movement in a curved line, as described, from theirpivot, and their inner ends are each slotted, as shown in Fig. 2, andconnected by an adjustable sliding stud l2. By adjusting the position ofthis stud 7: in the slot of the lever 7c relative to the pivot of thelatterthe throw of said lever will be varied, and thereby adjust themovement of the work-clamp accordingly to make buttonholes of differentlengths, as may be desired.

Having thus illustrated and described one practical embodiment of myinvention, I do not wish to be understood as confining myself to theparticular details of construction and arrangement of parts as setforth, as it will be obvious that various modifications may be madewithout departure from my invention. What I claim as my invention, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States,

1. In a buttonhole-sewing machine,the com- ,bination with thework-clamp, of a rotating controller, a reciprocating bar having meansfor engaging with said controller, means for imparting a vibratingmovement to the workclamp, and an adjustable yielding connection betweenthe reciprocating bar and the clamp-.

vibrating means, for the purpose set forth.

2. In a buttonhole-sewing machine,the combination with the work-clamp,of a vibrating lever having an operative connection with said work-clampand provided with a fixed stud thereon, a rotating controller, areciprocating yoke having a pivoted stop-finger for engaging with saidcontroller and provided with an opening through which said stud on thevibrating lever extends, and a device supported on said stud in avertically-adjustable position having a tapering surface for engagingwith the yoke, for the purpose set forth.

3. In a buttonhole-sewing machine,the combination with the work-clamp,of a vibrating lever having an operative connection with said work-clampand provided with a threaded stud thereon, a rotating controller, areciprocating yoke having a pivoted stop-linger for engaging with saidcontroller and also having an opening provided with a tapering wallthrough which said threaded stud on the vibrating lever extends, and asleeve mounted on said stud in a vertically-adjustable position havingan outer tapering surface for engaging with the tapering wall of saidyoke, for the purpose set forth.

4:. In a buttonhole-sewing machine, the combination with the work-clamp,of a vibrating lever having an operative connection with said work-clampand provided with a threaded stud thereon, a rotating controller, areciprocating yoke having a pivoted stop-finger for engaging with saidcontroller and provided with an opening therein through which saidthreaded stud extends, a sleeve having a screw-threaded connection withsaid stud and provided with an outer tapering surface for engaging withthe yoke, and .means for holding said sleeve in a stationary adjustedposition.

5. In abuttonhole-sewing machine,the combination with the work-clamp, ofa vibrating lever having an operative connection with said work clamp, arotating controller, and a reciprocating yoke having connection withsaid vibrating lever to be operated thereby and being provided with twostop-fingers for engaging with said controller to regulate the movementsof the yoke.

6. In a buttonhole-sewing machine, the combination with the work-clamp,of a vibrating lever having an operative connection with saidwork-clamp, a rotating controller, and a reciprocating yoke havingconnection with said vibrating lever to be operated thereby and beingprovided with two pivotally-supported stop-fingers thereon for engagingwith said controller to regulate the movements of the yoke.

7. In a buttonhole-lsewing machine,the combination with the work-clamp,of a vibrating lever having an operative connection with saidwork-clamp, a rotating controller, and a reciprocating yoke havingconnection with said vibrating lever and being provided with two pivotedspring-controlled stop-fingers for engaging with said controller, forthe purpose set forth.

8. In a buttonhole-sewing machine, the combination with the work-clamp,of a rotating controller, a pivoted elbow-lever having one arm thereofoperatively connected with said work-clamp, and a reciprocating yokeconnected with the second arm of said lever and being provided with twopivoted stop-fingers for engaging with said controller, stop-pins forsaid pivoted fingers, and springs for movably holding the latter in anormal position against said stop-pins, for the purpose set forth. I

9. In a buttonhole-sewing machine, the combination with the work-clamp,of a controller comprising two rotating former-cams mounted one abovethe other with a space between the same, a vibrating lever having anoperative connection with said work-clamp, a reciprocating yokeconnecting with said vibrating lever and operating in a plane betweenthe planes of the said former-cams, the said yoke being provided with apivoted stop-finger upon its upper and lower sides for engaging with theformer-cams, for the purpose set forth.

10. In a buttonhole-sewing machine, the combination of a vibrator-platecarrying the work-clamp, an elbow-lever pivotally secured upon a fixedsupporting-stud with one arm thereof operatively connected with saidvibrator-plate and its other arm provided with two spring-arms, meansfor operating said elbowlever through the medium of said spring-arms,

a rotating controller, and a reciprocating device connecting saidcontroller and the said elbow-lever to regulate the movements of thelatter, for the purpose set forth.

11. In a buttonhole-sewing machine, the combination of a vibrator-platecarrying the work-clamp, an elbow-lever pivotally mounted upon a fixedsupporting-stud and having one arm thereof provided with a curved slot,a pitman having an adjustable connection at one end with said arm in thecurved slot therein and having its opposite end connected with saidvibratorp1ate,two spring-controlled arms secured upon the second arm ofsaid elbowlever, means for operating said lever through the medium ofsaid spring-controlled arms, and means for regulating the movements ofsaid elbow-lever and the connected clamp vibrator-plate, for the purposeset forth.

12. In a buttonhole-sewing machine, the combination with the work-clamp,of a rotating controller, a reciprocating yoke havingpivotally-supported stop-fingers for engaging with said controller andregulating the movements of the yoke, and means for imparting avibrating movement to said workclamp and having connection with saidreciprocating yoke to be controlled thereby, for the purpose set forth.

13. In a buttonhole-sewing machine, the combination with the work-clamp,of a pivoted elbow-lever having one arm operatively connected with saidwork-clamp through the medium of a connecting-pitman, a rotatingcontroller, a reciprocating yoke connected with the second arm of saidelbow-lever to be movable therewith and having a movement inadirectionacross the axis of rotation of said controller and provided with meansfor engaging with the latter, means for securing an adjustableconnection between said yoke and elbowlever whereby more or less lostmotion is secured between the same, and means for operating saidelbow-lever.

DANL. MILLS.

WVitnesses:

CHAs. F. DANE, A. L. HAYES.

